The Rowan Summary

McCaffrey explores the Rowan's alienation on two fronts. First, she illustrates the loneliness of excellence and great power; this is often stated in the truism, "it's lonely at the top." In the top of her Tower, the Rowan wields such psychic and telekinetic power that, in the hierarchy of the Talented, she is tapped as the successor to the current leader, Peter Reidinger. Additionally, while those who work with her respect her professionalism and kindness, they also feel her emotional isolation. This loneliness, this sense of being different from other young women of her age, also lends itself to the romance that best describes this novel. The novel is a romance about a young woman yearning for the love of her life and, as an orphan, the fulfillment she expects from family ties. As the Rowan exclaims: "Someday it would be nice to have something who loved me...

The Rowan Short Guide

Anne McCaffrey Biographies (3)

Anne McCaffrey is one of the most prominent writers of science fiction today. Her special contribution has been to make emotion and love respectable subjects in science fiction. Born in Cambridge, Mas...
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Anne McCaffrey is a writer of many firsts: the first woman to win science fiction's coveted Hugo and Nebula Awards; the first sci-fi writer to break into the New York Times bestseller lists; and the f...
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"To be born, as I was, on April First imposes a certain responsibility on you to Be Someone. At nine I was convinced that being a writer was the easiest way to accomplish this goal. My first novel was...
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